Government rules out review into clash between police and miners at Orgreave

Ross Robertson

There will be no statutory inquiry or independent review into the notorious clash between police and miners at Orgreave in 1984, Home Secretary Amber Rudd has announced.

Ms Rudd said she made the "difficult decision" because "ultimately there were no deaths or wrongful convictions" resulting from the violent encounter in 1984.

Amber Rudd. Picture by PA.

She acknowledged her decision would be a "significant disappointment" to the Orgreave Truth And Justice Campaign, which was calling for a full public inquiry into South Yorkshire Police's conduct during the clashes.

Ms Rudd rejected the campaign's assessment that had the events of the so-called battle of Orgreave been dealt with properly at the time, the Hillsborough disaster would not have happened.

In a written ministerial statement, she said: "This has been a difficult decision to make, and one which I have thought about very carefully.

Orgreave. Picture by PA.

"I have now concluded that there is not a sufficient basis for me to instigate either a statutory inquiry or an independent review.

"I know that this decision will come as a significant disappointment to the Orgreave Truth And Justice Campaign and its supporters and I have set out in a letter to them today the detailed reasons for my decision which include the following points.

"Despite the forceful accounts and arguments provided by the campaigners and former miners who were present that day, about the effect that these events have had on them, ultimately there were no deaths or wrongful convictions.

"The campaigners say that had the consequences of the events at Orgreave been addressed properly at the time, the tragic events at Hillsborough would never have happened five years later.

"That is not a conclusion which I believe can be reached with any certainty."